K-pop boy band BtoB makes Manila 1st stop of ‘Our Dream’ Asia tour
MANILA, Philippines — Even before the proper presscon began, Filipino fans of the South Korean boy band BtoB (Born to Beat), called Filo Melodies, couldn’t contain their excitement to see their K-pop idols during the event.
They let out screams and cheers that reverberated through the room and even sang along with the group’s hits that were played in the background.
The press event was held hours before their recent fan-con dubbed “2024 BTOB Fan-Con Our Dream” at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena on April 7.
The Philippines was the first stop of BtoB’s “Our Dream” Asia tour, presented by Ovation Productions in partnership with A Planet and Fan Girl Asia. The BtoB members include Peniel, Chang-sub, Eunkwang, Hyunsik, Minhyuk, and Sungjae. But the latter was not able to make it to Manila due to a prior engagement, as explained by Eunkwang.
“Na-miss ko kayo sobra! Sobrang na-miss ko kayo (I missed you very much)!” lead vocalist Eunkwang said, making the fans giggle with such a remark at the presscon.
BtoB staged their first fan meeting in the country in 2016. Hyunsik mounted a solo fan meet in 2019, while Minhyuk came to the Philippines in February as seen in his Instagram post.
BtoB performed at “Dream Kpop Fantasy Concert” in 2014 and “Best of Best” show, along with Red Velvet, Girls Generation, and Super Junior, in 2015.
Through an English and Tagalog interpreter, Hyunsik, a scuba diving enthusiast, shared that he had already been to different beaches in the Philippines prior to the fan-con. “Every time I go here, I meet Filo Melodies. I’ve been in Apo Island, Liloan, Cebu, Bohol and Mindoro.”
Peniel, on the other hand, wanted to try Filipino dishes such as chicken or pork adobo. He had halo-halo earlier before the press con. “It’s very coconut-ty,” he commented.
Eunkwang, meanwhile, expressed how thrilled and elated they were to come back as a group.
“I know that it’s been a long time since we performed here in the Philippines as a group. Thank you very much for waiting for our performance and supporting BtoB as well. I only have gratitude toward Filo Melodies,” answered Chang-sub in response to The STAR’s question about their reaction the moment they learned that they would be returning to Manila.
Eunkwang quipped, “Can we come every day?” It elicited laughter from the audience who said yes to his query.
Eunkwang chanted with the fans a few verses from Freddie Aguilar’s Anak, a ditty which he and Hyunsik did a cover of during the “OneK Global Peace Concert” in 2017. Eunkwang further amused the crowd when he crooned SB19’s Mapa, a song he also rendered during the fan-con. “I really like this song, it’s an amazing song,” he uttered.
Since their debut in 2012, the boys have released hits, including WoW, Thriller, and Beep Beep, and dropped their 12th extended play called Wind and Wish last year.
What has kept the group stay motivated throughout the years of their music career is their supporters. In the words of Eunkwang, “These are not just words but I really say this deep from my heart, it is all because of you, guys, the Melodies. We are here and we talked about this for us to be able to come as a group. You are our strength. Sobrang mahal ko kayo.”
Minhyuk added, “Twelve years is such a long time, but 12 is just a number that’s passing. We would love to, have a dream of singing together more and more and more years to come with the Melodies.”
“Mahal ko kayo!,” exclaimed Minhyuk when asked to deliver his message to their Filipino fans.
Hyunsik chimed in, “Walang uuwi. First of all, we are apologetic for making you wait for such a long time. Some of us had served in the military but thank you, thank you very much for waiting and for staying with us.”
Eunkwang, who kept scrolling down on his phone as if looking for some words, also said, “Our Filipino Melodies, kay ganda. Today, walang uuwi.”
The infectious energy continued at the fan-con where the boys entertained the spectators with their emotional ballads and lively performances with pyrotechnics on display.
Attendees, holding a blue light stick, chanted with the members as they played The Song, Pray (I’ll be your man), Higher, It’s Okay, Day & Night, Wind And Wish, Remember That, Beautiful Pain, Only One For Me, and Missing You.
The quintet went on to engage the crowd with their 99-second relay game challenge and various segments, such as, “From Melody,” the part where they read messages from Filo Melodies; a video presentation of each member answering questions from fans; and a video tribute to the group on how they inspired the Melodies.
The BtoB members then took a photo and video with the fans and rendered their encore performances of Blowin’ Up and Finale (Our Concert).
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